Pateng Meghalaya: How We Care is a space about how homes, heirlooms, and memories in Meghalaya are remembered. The word pateng , a Khasi word, speaks of inheritance, continuity, and care across generations.
This website grew out of the Chief Minister’s Research Grant 2024-2025. It began with the idea of studying the Meghalaya Heritage Act, but soon turned to the stories of families and the everyday ways they care for their homes and belongings. These stories showed that heritage is not only about laws or official recognition. It is also about the small acts of repair and care carried out quietly in daily life.
At the centre of this website is a Community-led Heritage Impact Assessment toolkit. Unlike UNESCO’s Heritage Impact Assessment, which depends on experts and government reports, this toolkit is meant for the community like you and me to use. It helps them notice what they value, understand the impact of change, and think about simple alternatives. In this way, the care of heritage stays with the people who live it.
The toolkit can be downloaded and comes with guides, instructions, and video tutorials. The videos were recorded during the research period. Most repairs could not be documented as it was subjected to availability. Still, the videos that were possible to record show practical methods that families already use to look after their homes and everything in them.